Iphone Killer?

[Cheops]

There will be no iPhone "killer" because Apple has too big an infrastructure backing it up. Perhaps it may be wounded by Apple's failure to push the technology as they certainly have failed to do with the announced iPad. But there will always be a large number of people who are happy using only the apps Jobs has okayed.

I like a little more freedom to choose and last week received my Google Nexus One. I haven't found anything an iPhone can do that my gPhone can't. And I've found an app for everything I want right now. Ok. So the iPhone App Store has a hundred thousand more apps than Android? Great. How many fart apps were you looking for? I'm not a fan of Flash but, with Android, I can choose whether to use it. Apple? Sorry. Steve doesn't like Flash.

The future phone looks to me to be two camps: Apple and Android

There is already an iPhone killer and it's called the HTC HD2! Best spec-ed phone ever at this moment. Apps? Well, plenty available for Winmo! And don't tell me: but WP7 will not be supported for the HD2. Well, it will takes months before WP7 is available and probably the HD3 will be out by then running either WP7 or Android

Of course by then maybe the iPhone4 will be very good as well, but at this moment, the HD2 sure beats the iPhone easily in hardware specs.

[nikster]

There is already an iPhone killer and it's called the HTC HD2.. ... WinMo...

No point in even looking at that phone, WinMo is total garbage. Even Microsoft knows this which is why WinMo 7 is a complete rewrite, not even trying to be in any way compatible to WinMo. WinMo is dead. WinMo 7 (whatever they'll call it) should be interesting. From the looks of it it's not even trying to copy the iPhone, it's just a totally different approach. Knowing Microsoft, I doubt it will beat the iPhone on usability - but it will be good enough to actually compete. Exciting!

[nikster]

The future phone looks to me to be two camps: Apple and Android

#3 Windows Mobile 7

#4 Whatever Nokia chooses to replace Symbian, I think some sort of mobile linux, Android without Google apps or something.

#5 Palm WebOS - the dark horse though from the looks of it Palm concentrates on the USA and thereby kinda shoots itself in the foot. WebOS looks great and the hardware neat so how come Palm phones aren't flooding the market?

As for 3 I don't really know why any hardware vendor would voluntarily get in the boat with Microsoft when they can have an open source OS that's at least as good if not better than WM7. Maybe out of habit? Maybe MS will offer them something? WinMo 7 looks good on merit, I just don't really understand the business model, e.g. why choose it when there's Android.

Edit: Added Nokia

Edited March 18, 2010 by nikster

[mezzoninny]

<deleted> Samsung created their own OS? Not based on anything? That's pretty surprising. Anyone have any info on that?

I have a theory: Everyone who used to do WinMo was informed a long time ago, under the table, by Microsoft that they will no longer be allowed to slap their customized interfaces onto future versions of WinMo (which is now windows phone 7).

These are all people who have depended on WinMo because they were either too cheap, or didn't have the resources to create an OS with any sort of popularity guarantee. With the news from MS in mind they then went in different directions: HTC went for Android and Samsung chose to put resources into doing their own thing. It's not meant to challenge anyone or anything, it just that the frozen pizza crust they used for dinner has been end-of-lifed.

I know noone's asking me, but right now I like to choose my phone OS based on what I need the phone to do for me. Say I need to listen to mms:// internet radio streams, that leaves me primarily with WinMo, and then maybe the iphone and android, both of which have apps that may or may not function for me. If I need to use TVUplayer, it's either a jailbroken iphone or a clunky WinMo for me (to run a beta app).

I have complained about WinMo for a long time, but it's proving to be more and more useful for me than Android at this point. So any other consideration for the superiority or inferiority of the OS is moot for me at this point, and I'd happily pick up an HD2 for everyday use.

Edited March 18, 2010 by mezzoninny

[Cheops]

WinMo 7 is a complete rewrite, not even trying to be in any way compatible to WinMo. WinMo is dead.

Yeah, completely rewrite, just a copy of the Zune OS with some added features (from which copy&paste is NOT one of them )

True, the old winmo isn't the greatest, but with the Sense skin from HTC the HD2 is a very smooth working phone with the best hardware specs at this moment which won't be out of date within the next 6 months. The HD2 will be available in the US soon now as well and I see many many people are waiting to buy one. So why is this you think?

[nikster]

WinMo 7 is a complete rewrite, not even trying to be in any way compatible to WinMo. WinMo is dead.

Yeah, completely rewrite, just a copy of the Zune OS with some added features (from which copy&paste is NOT one of them )

True, the old winmo isn't the greatest, but with the Sense skin from HTC the HD2 is a very smooth working phone with the best hardware specs at this moment which won't be out of date within the next 6 months. The HD2 will be available in the US soon now as well and I see many many people are waiting to buy one. So why is this you think?

Why do people waste their money? I don't know. I do know quite a few people who don't want to buy an iPhone because of the locked-down nature of both the phone and the app store. And to that I say: Fair enough. The control freak thing going on at Apple isn't enough to deter me from owning an iPhone, but I am as disgusted by it as the next person. I have jailbroken the phone of course even though I bought it factory unlocked. Other than that, the iPhone is just a new world of computing. It's impossible to go back to something inferior - the others are improving but not there yet.

Then there's those who used to buy the top end Nokia for no good reason; these now tend to buy the top end HTC for no reason other than to differentiate themselves from those who don't have one. Gadgeteers, too - those who must have the latest gadget. I sympathize there but not to the point where I'd deal with WinMo. Android maybe. The iPhone is too popular for that kind of thing now, everyone has one already. In any major city in the west, it seems like every second person has an iPhone.

Edited March 18, 2010 by nikster

[Cheops]

From today: Byebye iPhone, byebye HD2! Hello HTC Evo!!!

If you are still saying that your iPhone is superior then I feel sorry for you

HTC Evo announcement via Engadget!

[HDRIDER]

Hi

Look like i have to wait a little

[nikster]

From today: Byebye iPhone, byebye HD2! Hello HTC Evo!!!

If you are still saying that your iPhone is superior then I feel sorry for you

HTC Evo announcement via Engadget!

HTC is a terrible company. They put this huge amazing screen on the device. And all sorts of hardware goodies that make me drool. And then:

- Android 2.1 - old

- CDMA + WiMax - to ensure it doesn't even work in most of the world. No GSM.

- A... wait for it... kick-stand. <deleted>??

That last one made me pause a bit. <deleted> is HTC thinking? That the phone will double as a cheapo small screen TV? A tiny small speaker stereo? Yes, why not add features that can otherwise only be found in the 99ct store. Why not glue a mirror to the back too, like Palm did? It wouldn't cost anything.

That screen looks so amazing. Now if HTC could only get it together and produce an actual quality consumer product. The iPhone needs more competition.

[Cheops]

From today: Byebye iPhone, byebye HD2! Hello HTC Evo!!!

If you are still saying that your iPhone is superior then I feel sorry for you

HTC Evo announcement via Engadget!

HTC is a terrible company. They put this huge amazing screen on the device. And all sorts of hardware goodies that make me drool. And then:

- Android 2.1 - old

- CDMA + WiMax - to ensure it doesn't even work in most of the world. No GSM.

- A... wait for it... kick-stand. <deleted>??

That last one made me pause a bit. <deleted> is HTC thinking? That the phone will double as a cheapo small screen TV? A tiny small speaker stereo? Yes, why not add features that can otherwise only be found in the 99ct store. Why not glue a mirror to the back too, like Palm did? It wouldn't cost anything.

That screen looks so amazing. Now if HTC could only get it together and produce an actual quality consumer product. The iPhone needs more competition.

Well, in Pai maybe you don't have 3G and CDMA, but in BKK we sure have both (remember Hutch?). And more countries also have CDMA and WiMax (like in my homecountry for example!)

And Android 2.1 old??? Where did you get this info? It's the latest flavor of Android.

A kick-stand! Yes, of course, coz this phone can make video in 720p format! And besides that I see many people watch movies on their beloved iPhone as well. So yes, a kick-stand is actually quite handy, so your hand does not hurt after watching a movie like on the iPhone.

Don't get me wrong, the iPhone is a nice phone, but if you are a gadget fan, you really can't deny that the HTC Evo has a good spec Nikster.

The iPhone needs more competition? Well, I see many comments on blogs that people will ditch their iPhones for the HTC Evo! Let's see what will happen.

And last: HTC a terrible company? Maybe 10 years ago yes, but now, sure not! They deliver quality build phones!

Nikster, before this is turning personal. That's not my intention, so I hope no hard feelings I just want to point out that the HTC Evo is a very nice phone to look out for. Sure now's it will come out first in CDMA, but later you can bet HTC will make a GSM flavor as well.

Edited March 25, 2010 by Cheops

[britmaveric]

Problem is until someone develops full blown APPS something like what APPLE does I doubt anyone can touch the iphone. Not to mention you don't think APPLE will improve with their new models?

[nikster]

Problem is until someone develops full blown APPS something like what APPLE does I doubt anyone can touch the iphone. Not to mention you don't think APPLE will improve with their new models?

Yeah on that last point. The EVO is going to be shipping in "summer 2010". The iPhone 4G is expected for summer 2010 as well - they've introduced a new version every year in June since the original one. So any phones shipping in summer of 2010 will not be competing with the iPhone 3GS - they'll be competing with the next version.

[nikster]

Well, in Pai maybe you don't have 3G and CDMA, but in BKK we sure have both (remember Hutch?). And more countries also have CDMA and WiMax (like in my homecountry for example!)

A kick-stand! Yes, of course, coz this phone can make video in 720p format! And besides that I see many people watch movies on their beloved iPhone as well. So yes, a kick-stand is actually quite handy, so your hand does not hurt after watching a movie like on the iPhone.

And last: HTC a terrible company? Maybe 10 years ago yes, but now, sure not! They deliver quality build phones!

Nikster, before this is turning personal. That's not my intention, so I hope no hard feelings I just want to point out that the HTC Evo is a very nice phone to look out for. Sure now's it will come out first in CDMA, but later you can bet HTC will make a GSM flavor as well.

Hey no hard feelings. I love gadgets, and I love things that are advancing computing - such as the iPhone and iPad. But while I recognize that Apple and Steve Jobs are basically single-handedly ushering in a new era of computing, I also see the terrible flaws of both the man and the company. I hate that Apple controls what's in the app store, and doesn't allow alternative app stores - that alone prevents me from saying that the iPhone/iPad is how computers will look like because I don't want to believe that it's going to be controlled by a locked down model like this. Freedom will prevail. That's why Android is there to save us all from the control freaks at Apple.

I said HTC is terrible because this company builds phones like they were PCs. Specs, specs, specs, and usability is a hindsight. For me great design is when you can't take anything away. The kickstand flies in the face of that. Sure you can say it might come in handy, but why not add a flashlight, FM radio, lighter, and bottle opener too? The latter would probably come in handy more often than that kick-stand. Hmm.. maybe I am onto something there

The hardware quality of HTC is undisputed, I just wish they got a clue about software, or consumer products for that matter.

We have CDMA in Pai but I guess one of my requirements for a phone is that it works in the USA, Thailand, and Europe. CDMA doesn't cut it. Also CDMA doesn't generally use SIM cards, so if you get a CAT CDMA EVO, it won't work for you in the USA or other countries where they have CDMA. So this technology is inferior to GSM. It's made for people who don't travel maybe?! It's great for data in Thailand, I use CAT CDMA all the time on the computer, but for phones, no thanks.

[Cheops]

Hi Nikster, thanks for your nice reply. Maybe the kickstand can open bottles too?

Don't get me wrong, I don't have anything against iPhone. I could live with an iPhone as well, but this new HTC Evo is just a great piece of HW with good SW to go with. You wrote: "That's why Android is there to save us all from the control freaks at Apple." Well, the Evo runs on the latest version of Android which is a good thing. So I think HTC has done a smart move with this phone. Of course I will wait until the GSM version is available, since I also don't want to be stuck with CDMA. Sure the kickstand is just a gimmick, but really, I wasn't joking when I said that I see many people watching movies on their iPhones. A kickstand will help there.

Nice discussing with you.

By the way, I envy you living in Pai! I'm stuck in BKK bound by my work, which by the way also delivers about 11 products (IC's) which are used in every iPhone! So I'm happy that the iPhone is bestseller!

[kbaboom]

Sorry to be off topic on this post. Just inherited an iPhone 3G 16GB locked with AT&T from the US. Any recommendations where to have this unlocked here in Bangkok so I can use my DTAC sim it? Also any ideas on how much it would cost, and how long it would take?

Cheers!

[nikster]

Sorry to be off topic on this post. Just inherited an iPhone 3G 16GB locked with AT&T from the US. Any recommendations where to have this unlocked here in Bangkok so I can use my DTAC sim it? Also any ideas on how much it would cost, and how long it would take?

Cheers!

Would take 15 minutes and cost anywhere from 300 - 1000 Baht. Or you could download Blackra1n and unlock it yourself. Check your firmware version (Settings->General->About). If it's 3.1.2 or below, you are fine. If it's 3.1.3 you will need to downgrade to 3.1.2 and then use Blackra1n. Downgrading is going to be hard or impossible if this phone wasn't jailbroken before.

So in summary - it all depends... before you go anywhere, check the firmware version on the phone. 3.1.2 and below are trivial to unlock, 3.1.3 not so much.

[kbaboom]

Thanks nikster.

It says version 3.1.3. I've taken it today to Zeer Rangsit and none of the 4 shops I asked were able to unlock it. They said that I had to wait because the software needed to unlock this version is not available yet. I assume they have no idea about downgrading as none of them suggested this.

As to whether this was jailbroken before? It is most likely that it hasn't. I've done some searching on you tube, but see several different programs like snowbreeze, fuzzyband, and Blackra1n (like you suggested). I've have no prior experience unlocking an iPhone and am afraid I might mess this phone up. So if there is/are any idiot-proof methods of going about unlocking it, then I think I would not be comfortable doing it by myself.

[Cheops]

Well, seems the HD2 is still quite popular! Even though it's not upgradable to WP7 (well at least not official that is!).

NEWS-FLASH:

T-Mobile HTC HD2 apparently sold out within hours

The HTC HD2 will never get to be upgraded to Windows Phone 7 Series, and it’s certainly not as hot as Sprint’s upcoming HTC EVO 4G, but this has not stopped T-Mobile USA customers to want it.

In fact, it looks like the HD2 is an instant hit in the US, as Boy Genius reports that the smartphone (launched on March 24) sold out in about four hours in almost all T-Mobile locations across the country.

At the moment, the HTC HD2 is also out of stock at T-Mo’s online store, where it should have been available for $199.99 (with a 2-yr contract agreement).

[nikster]

Thanks nikster.

It says version 3.1.3. I've taken it today to Zeer Rangsit and none of the 4 shops I asked were able to unlock it. They said that I had to wait because the software needed to unlock this version is not available yet. I assume they have no idea about downgrading as none of them suggested this.

As to whether this was jailbroken before? It is most likely that it hasn't. I've done some searching on you tube, but see several different programs like snowbreeze, fuzzyband, and Blackra1n (like you suggested). I've have no prior experience unlocking an iPhone and am afraid I might mess this phone up. So if there is/are any idiot-proof methods of going about unlocking it, then I think I would not be comfortable doing it by myself.

I thought you said you had a 3G. I believe the 3G could be downgraded / unlocked. But I know for a fact that the 3GS cannot be downgraded or unlocked once you are on 3.1.3. A 3GS on 3.1.3, you really just have to wait until some kind soul releases a hack. There might be one out soon when the iPad is released. Or they may wait for iPhone OS 4.0. A certain Geohot said he already has a hack for all current 3.1.3 phones but is holding off. Knowing the guy, he won't be able to hold off much longer though... he is the author of blackra1n.

This is just the way Apple prevents an all out win, and gives the competition a nice little present - by pissing off its own customers.

[kbaboom]

QUOTE (kbaboom @ 2010-03-27 21:20:54)

Thanks nikster.

It says version 3.1.3. I've taken it today to Zeer Rangsit and none of the 4 shops I asked were able to unlock it. They said that I had to wait because the software needed to unlock this version is not available yet. I assume they have no idea about downgrading as none of them suggested this.

As to whether this was jailbroken before? It is most likely that it hasn't. I've done some searching on you tube, but see several different programs like snowbreeze, fuzzyband, and Blackra1n (like you suggested). I've have no prior experience unlocking an iPhone and am afraid I might mess this phone up. So if there is/are any idiot-proof methods of going about unlocking it, then I think I would not be comfortable doing it by myself.

I thought you said you had a 3G. I believe the 3G could be downgraded / unlocked. But I know for a fact that the 3GS cannot be downgraded or unlocked once you are on 3.1.3. A 3GS on 3.1.3, you really just have to wait until some kind soul releases a hack. There might be one out soon when the iPad is released. Or they may wait for iPhone OS 4.0. A certain Geohot said he already has a hack for all current 3.1.3 phones but is holding off. Knowing the guy, he won't be able to hold off much longer though... he is the author of blackra1n.

This is just the way Apple prevents an all out win, and gives the competition a nice little present - by pissing off its own customers.

I believe I have a 3G, or at least that's what it says on the box, though I must admit I am not familiar with either. My phone could not take videos, so I am assuming it is not a 3GS. Could it be that it is a 3G which has been upgraded to 3.1.3?

So these instructions on how to downgrade I see on You Tube, are they worth trying? Is there a chance that any of these software can ruin the phone?

Cheers!

[nikster]

QUOTE (kbaboom @ 2010-03-27 21:20:54)

Thanks nikster.

It says version 3.1.3. I've taken it today to Zeer Rangsit and none of the 4 shops I asked were able to unlock it. They said that I had to wait because the software needed to unlock this version is not available yet. I assume they have no idea about downgrading as none of them suggested this.

As to whether this was jailbroken before? It is most likely that it hasn't. I've done some searching on you tube, but see several different programs like snowbreeze, fuzzyband, and Blackra1n (like you suggested). I've have no prior experience unlocking an iPhone and am afraid I might mess this phone up. So if there is/are any idiot-proof methods of going about unlocking it, then I think I would not be comfortable doing it by myself.

I thought you said you had a 3G. I believe the 3G could be downgraded / unlocked. But I know for a fact that the 3GS cannot be downgraded or unlocked once you are on 3.1.3. A 3GS on 3.1.3, you really just have to wait until some kind soul releases a hack. There might be one out soon when the iPad is released. Or they may wait for iPhone OS 4.0. A certain Geohot said he already has a hack for all current 3.1.3 phones but is holding off. Knowing the guy, he won't be able to hold off much longer though... he is the author of blackra1n.

This is just the way Apple prevents an all out win, and gives the competition a nice little present - by pissing off its own customers.

I believe I have a 3G, or at least that's what it says on the box, though I must admit I am not familiar with either. My phone could not take videos, so I am assuming it is not a 3GS. Could it be that it is a 3G which has been upgraded to 3.1.3?

So these instructions on how to downgrade I see on You Tube, are they worth trying? Is there a chance that any of these software can ruin the phone?

Cheers!

I looked again and I don't know if a 3G with 3.1.3 can be downgraded. Try Google, or posting a new thread here in this forum on this, maybe somebody else knows. Maybe you're stuck just like the 3GS users...